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Former Rebels Accused of Retaining 'Bush Wives'

The Independent (Freetown)
NEWS
December 20, 2004
Posted to the web December 20, 2004
Freetown
UNICEF in Sierra Leone says many of the girls and women used as "sex slaves' by
commanders of the various fighting factions in Sierra Leone are still retained
by them.
The agency's assertion is based on a report in the 2004 Global report. The 2004
Global report says over 10, 000 children, including girls, were recruited as
combatants during the ten-year civil conflict from 1991 to 2002 in Sierra
Leone.
The report also states that children are recruited in other war-torn countries
like Ivory Coast and DR. Congo
The report says despite thousands of abducted girls, women and their children
have not been accounted for. Only about 8% of the girls associated with the
rebel forces were demobilized. According to the Global Report 2004, some 1,000
women and girls are still with their former rebel commanders who claim them as
wives.
UNICEF says, "Urgent attention needs to be given at the chiefdom, district and
national level in addressing the issue of the 'Girls Left Behind', through
targeted community-based social and economic development initiatives.
Utilization of existing community-based structures, such as the Family Support
Unit of the Sierra Leonean Police and Social Development Workers from the
Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children's Affairs (MSWGCA), to examine
the situation of girls and women, either remaining with commanders or abandoned
in communities at the end of the conflict will be crucial".
UNICEF says, "Child demobilization programs did not capture the unique
situation of former fighters who lost their childhood as a result of being
recruited or abducted as children and after ten years of war were instead
demobilized as adults. Priority must therefore be given to children in the
implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the proposed
Children's Policy".
The Sierra Leone Government has however been praised for positive strides in
the protection of children.
A release from UNICEF in Freetown says, "Since the end of the war, significant
strides have been taken by the Government of Sierra Leone and its partners to
ensure the protection of children associated with the fighting forces (CAFF).
The Government has ratified the Optional Protocol on the non-recruitment of
children into armed groups, and over the past three years there has been no
reported case of recruitment of children by armed groups within the country".
UNICEF however also looks on the bright side of things. It says about 98% of
the estimated 6,845 children demobilized have been successfully reunified
within their families and communities. "Worthy of note within the reunification
process has been the active involvement of children in the proceedings of the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission culminating in the first ever "child-
friendly" version of a Truth and Reconciliation Report", the report states.
UNICEF however points out that though the Optional Protocol on Non-Recruitment
of Children has been ratified, changes in national legislation in Sierra Leone
are yet to be made. "Advisably, sub regional response to reports on movements
of small arms and child fighters across borders would go a long way towards
reducing continued instability within the region".

   

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